Republican candidate Kelly Daughtry has suspended her campaign in North Carolina’s 13th Congressional District following an endorsement from former President Donald Trump for her opponent, Brad Knott. Daughtry received the most votes in the state’s primary but failed to secure the nomination outright. Despite withdrawing, she will still remain on the ballot due to the timing of her decision. The runoff election in the 13th District will also determine the final Republican nominees for two other statewide positions, lieutenant governor and state auditor. The endorsement from Trump has effectively made this runoff a one-person race.
The 13th District was redrawn to exclude a significant portion of Wake County that had previously helped elect a Democrat, making it much more favorable to Republican candidates. The new district now encompasses parts of eight counties and is expected to heavily favor the Republican nominee. The previous lines of the district would have resulted in a win for Trump in 2020 by a significant margin. With the Democrat incumbent announcing he would not seek re-election, the race attracted 14 Republican candidates in the primary, leading to a runoff without a clear victor emerging.
The primary runoff elections in North Carolina are scheduled for Tuesday, with polls closing at 7:30 p.m. ET. The Associated Press will provide coverage of the Republican primary runoffs for the 13th Congressional District, lieutenant governor, and state auditor. Only voters who participated in the Republican primary on March 5 will be eligible to vote in the primary runoff. Unaffiliated registered voters who did not cast a ballot in the previous primary may also choose to participate. The lieutenant governor’s runoff between two candidates is considered to be a significant race on the ballot.
Despite Daughtry suspending her campaign, she will still appear on the ballot for the runoff election. If she were to win the second primary but not accept the nomination, the Republicans’ 13th District executive committee would appoint a candidate for the November ballot. The AP does not make projections and will only declare a winner when there is no scenario that would allow trailing candidates to close the gap. Turnout for runoffs tends to be lower than initial primaries, which could impact the race-calling process, especially in smaller jurisdictions.
As of March, there were over 7.4 million registered voters in North Carolina, with about 32% Democrats and 30% Republicans. The overall turnout in the March primaries was 24%. In the 13th District, which has around 475,000 registered voters, about 33% of votes were cast before Election Day in the March primary. The vote-counting process in the 13th District’s Republican primary concluded relatively quickly in March, with results reported shortly after polls closed. With the November general election still 175 days away, the focus is now on the upcoming Republican primary runoffs and the outcomes in the various races on the ballot.
